I cannot see much, just the white and yellow lines of the freeway swaying here and there around the mountains. “Coyote,” by Joni Mitchell, is stuck in my head on repeat as I watch those lines, matching the lean of our bike to the rhythm of the road. I ride 2UP (pronounced: two up), which means…

  With all the rain and terrible flooding that we have had, it seems that August just might be the best of summer 2023. Many of our fellow Vermonters need our help and our prayers. If we all do what we can, it will certainly ease the burden of those suffering. I recently experienced a…

For most of the year, it’s hard to find a pond without at least a few mallards swimming around. These ducks, with their green-headed drakes and streaky brown hens, are among the most common water birds throughout the Northeast. In spring and fall, mallard flocks are ubiquitous, gobbling up grasses and aquatic plants. In winter,…

While listening to a radio conversation between two people hosting a show I heard one of them ask the other what decade he expected to hear songs from when he is told that an “oldie” is coming up. The two hosts were not close in age so one said the ’70s and the other said…

  Walking on the beach, Leaving footprints in the sand, The water taking them with it, Leaving no trace behind. But we must keep on going, There is still more to learn, Finding footprints in the sand, From many days before, May only be a dream. Now that more has washed ashore, It may leave…

  Venus retrograde isn’t renowned for being a pleasant experience. Of all the planetary retrograde cycles, Venus is the one we  feel the most. You see, Venus is the planet associated with the areas of life you don’t want cut short such as joy, happiness and pleasure. Have you ever seen a child happily walk…

  Autumn is the busiest season for nonprofit fundraising, during which many nonprofits are preparing year-end reports, planning fundraising events, and crafting impact-focused requests for donations. The majority of these activities are the responsibility of the nonprofits’ fundraisers. Whether they are salaried staff, paid consultants, or volunteers, many of these fundraisers are women, persons of…

  Our grandchildren have come to our Killington lodge to spend a week with “Gammy and Papa.” Cora Irene (2 1/2 years old) joined brother Silas who just turned 8 in mid-July. Silas has his dad’s disposition—calm, centered and often serene — but his toddler sister is strong and defiant, very determined and cute as…

  There’s a cradling, a sense of calm that takes over you as the water moves gently beneath your boat. A soft bounce that you can feel almost immediately as you step foot into your craft and shove off from the shore. You almost don’t need to go anywhere, you can simply float in place…

  I grew up in a family with two older brothers; one was 8 years older and the other was 13 years older. Given the age gap, we did not play together much. So, by default, I was left to fend for myself, and while there were plenty of neighbor kids around, when I was…

  At first, I suspected it was the deer that had almost completely defoliated the northern spicebush sapling I had planted just weeks earlier. Only days prior, it had been brimming with new growth, and now all that remained were two leaves wrapped into cigarlike cylinders. Curious, I inspected this pair of surviving leaves. At…

Flowing over rocks and stones, Crystal clear, Beautiful, too, Singing its song of love to you. Gurgling and swishing, Then the birds join in, Little tweets and chirps of happiness, All start blending in. To a beautiful song of nature, The wind starts to blow, Rustling the tree’s leaves, Creating a beautiful scene. Nature’s beautiful…

  The month of August is set to be a month of illumination and clarity, with this week being no exception. Beginning with a Full Moon in Aquarius, the chance to realign priorities in terms of how much you’ve sacrificed your needs and desires for the sake of something or someone else is highlighted. Distancing…

Many things have changed over the course of my lifetime and that is to be expected. However, they seem to be changing at a rapid clip and this senior can barely keep up! It seems like we all used land line phones forever and now the majority of people have cell phones. You no longer…

  I knew the shape of the box. I could feel it, even though it was wrapped in the traditional Christmas paper and technically looked like all of the other boxes underneath the tree. But my sister and I, we just knew what would be in those 3-inch thick boxes. It wasn’t the right shape for…